A Ghost, Revived V20
by theprovalone
Summary: After five years of peace, a threat from Aya's past returns to threaten her present life and family
1. Chapter 1

Yo, this is my first fanfic, and a second try at it to boot, and I can't wait to write more (I apologize for the horrid quality, I'm new... newish)

Disclaimer: I own no characters involved in Parasite Eve, spare the ones I will create with the power of my MIND!

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Chapter 1: Prologue

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'_This is the worst job I've ever taken_' was all that Aya could think as she bused the table at Joe's 24 hour dinner, the former after shift 5 AM diner / breakfast hangout for MIST operatives and beat cops just off the graveyard shift. '_Well'_ she thought, '_it could be worse, my co-workers could be turning into NMCs and my boss could be Number 9'_. The light ring of the front door signaled the arrival of yet another blue collar patron to add to the half dozen that lined the counter. All of them 40 something truck drivers. '_No, at least that would be interesting'_.

In the five years following the destruction of the Neo Arc, NMCs had become as rare as Bigfoot at a photography shoot and reached a similar status, gracing the covers of tabloids and the play bill of several B-movies. MIST remained active, even after it was downsized to a total of two people, her and Pierce, both at part-time and with reduced pay. The other two surviving agents move on with their lives and away from the crumbling organization.

Rupert had moved to Michigan, and with his credentials and references soon hooked a job as security consultant for some medical technology researching firm that was consulting the government in relation to the Ark waste disposal and resource salvage. Aya took the over bearing title as a way to glorify NMC janitorial services. Apparently mutant monster containment and government conspiracies made industrial sabotage look like a stroll in the park, and payed nearly double.

Jodie was re-assigned as the equipment and facility manager of the L.A. Branch office of the CIA. The job was actually in the same pay grade as her old one at the bureau, but had the benefit of far nicer toys. She was still know to drop by the office and play cat and clueless mouse with Pierce on her slow days. All that she would need to do for him to notice was hit him in the head with a sledge hammer till he forgot his name and she would have the man of her dreams.

Pierce was the only person who wanted to remain in MIST after the shambolic dismissal of the former director and restructuring of the organization. The last person one would expect to step up their game in the face of adversity did exactly that, showing a dedication to the cause nobody expected from him.

Aya was ordained too important an asset to the government to be allowed to fully quit. Besides, she needed to pay the rent, seeing as Kyle was now a real 'freelance' investigator without his old government paycheck and Eve was still in school, getting a real education and filling in the holes in her knowledge. The dinner paid the same as the part time Bureau, allowed her to work around the shifts at the office, and had some special benefits, including all you can eat burgers and desert. "God bless mitochondria" was Aya's standard prayer before gorging herself on junk food. One of the best moments of her life was learning that she could eat anything she wanted without gaining weight.

Eve on the other hand was normal in every sense of the word, spare the missing childhood. She put Aya's own grades to shame with her perfect scores and she was the most popular girl in her freshman class. And to think that only five year ago she was a lab rat for an insane organization for the humanity challenged. Add on to that the fact she has never had the expected psychological breakdown one might predict a clone to have in some science fiction movie. Although she may be without her original mitochondrial powers, she still seemed to have a few tricks up her sleeve in addition to a bright personality and amazing intuition. Must run in the gene pool.

"More coffee," shouted one of the more annoying patrons, pulling the super human waitress out of her thoughts and back to the present, "and make it fresh this time" he mumbled under his breath, so low he himself could barely hear it. "Coming up sir, nice and fresh" the man turning white as a sheet on the word fresh. '_That's right, I heard that prick_. _Well, m__aybe hear is the wrong word_,' she thought, '_I read that'_. All she needed to do was focus on something and any sound or movement was instantly recorded and analyzed. "There ought to be a law" Aya mumbled to herself while pouring a cup of the day old coffee they kept for just such customers. Unlike after the New York incident, her powers haven't faded at all since the Arc. If anything they seemed to be getting stronger.

Like the time Aya froze Kyle's hair with her breath while blowing him a raspberry or the nacho incident, which left Douglas and Flint emotionally scarred for life.

Besides, who thought nacho cheese could be forcibly evolved into a semi sentient and delicious jalapeño flavored NMC with a taste for diet soda and human hair.

Aya checked her watch after setting the cup of coffee down in front of mister fresh, and grimaced. '_Only ten minutes to go till I can take a nap on the tax payers' dime'_ she thought. After all, there had yet to be a real wild NMC sighted in the last two years, and ther hadn't been a need to deploy MIST in nearly four. It seemed that the new NMCs lacked the critical flare field of burning death that many of the original creatures had. What this meant was lost on the entire scientific community however. Their theories ranged from evolution of the mitchondrial archetype all the way to sun spots. Same as usual for crypto and xeno biology.

No sooner than she finished the thought than Pierce dashed into the dinner and ran to up to her. "Your phone… not on… its big… we gotta go, NOW" before the exhausted little man could even blink, Aya was out the door, still in her waitress uniform with her spare cloths in hand. She didn't need to hear anything else, his eyes said it all. They finally had to earn their government pay again.

"Murphy's law strikes back" was all she managed to say before she was in her car, not even waiting for Pierce to catch up before gunning the engine and heading to the office.

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Please review I need feedback ty

PS: flamers will be turned into slime and used to take over the world. Only the constructive critics will be spared.


	2. Chapter 2

Yo, this is my first fanfic, and a first time posting multiple chapters (I apologize for the horrid quality, I'm new... newish)

Disclaimer: I own no characters involved in Parasite Eve, but I do own like, three copies of the game, so that should count for something, right?

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Chapter 2: Two Cops and a Doctor Walk Into a Bar

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**Two Days Earlier**

Daniel Dollis had a major headache the moment he stepped into 1 police plaza.

Dollis had spent nearly three decades on the police force, and had the greying hair on his brow line to prove it. He had seen riots, gang violence, murders, car wrecks, and even the one time only crime spree by an insane clown with a god complex. The reign of Kefka Parovi only last five days and left the streets covered in multicolored streamers. Yes, a fairly normal and upstanding police career. Oh, and the mitochondrial apocalypse that stared his partner and a sick opera singer. That happened too. Altogether Daniel only had three regrets in his life.

First and foremost on his list was not being fast enough to save his wife from Eve. Even with all the assurances he received from Aya, Maeda, and the words of his own son Ben, he still blamed himself for her death. A simple phone call to her before they had left for central park, sending a beat cop to catch them before they entered the theater, even running into the park to reach them before Eve made her barrier. He survived immersion in flames once, he could have done it twice if he had really tried. Now, all he had of her were lukewarm memories of their last dew years together and books filled with pictures. That line of thought led directly to his second biggest regret.

Second was his over zealous devotion to the force, specifically when it came at the cost of time with his family. He had always justified it as protecting them. The safer the city they lived in, the better their life would be. That was his line of thinking as a beat cop, walking the streets around their apartment every night for an hour past shift change for the first three years of their marriage. The same sentiment that led him to pull every string he could as a detective to bust the gangs around their new, higher priced apartment in Manhattan, including switching to graveyard shift for nearly a year when Ben was six years old. Same idea that led him to chase after the rogue Melissa Pearce instead of going to Central Park with his family, or just asking them to stay home, safe and sound.

The final and by far least important regret that chief of police Daniel Dollis had was listening to that windbag mayor and running for his current station in the police force. Captain Dollis just sounded better. It also had more to do with actual police work, as opposed to politics. As soon as the words 'you should' left the mouth of the mayors aid, he should have just tuned him out, but no, he had to try and change the system form the top down. Instead, he ended up playing peacemaker between Internal Affairs and the _real_ police in the city. Nothing to do here but talk himself dizzy in front of cameras and behind closed doors.

Yes, today was the start of yet another string of dull and pointless days, in which he would do little to make his world a safer place and probable never crack a grin. '_Unless that clown has a surprise parole hearing coming up'_ he thought with a rueful smile '_sad clowns always are worth my time_'.

As soon as he stepped into his office, his smirk turned to a scowl as he saw the grim faces around him. Three people were standing in his office that the police chief never wanted to see together under this particular set of conditions. On the left was Captain Morrison, 17th precinct's replacement captain, and the only person in the station that Daniel didn't want there. He was an outside promotion after Dollis moved up and came in from the fourth precinct, had a perfect record, but a horrid personality. Next was his old friend professor Kunihiko Maeda, the brains behind the trio that overcame Eve and her cellular rebellion. He had taken a position in New York last year as head researcher for the MMC, Mitochondria Medical Commission, if he was here without calling before hand, it was an emergency. Finally, on the right was Martin Specter, the head of the city Sanitation department and resident expert on NMC clean up. All together, two NMC experts and one arrogant prick. Never a good thing at 8:12 AM.

"Captain, Maeda, Mr. Specter, to what do I owe this visit?" was the first, and last Question asked that day that didn't involve the words Mitochondria, Eve, remains, Aya, and surprisingly the Three Stooges.

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**Present**

Aya could only stare slack jawed at the screen in front of her. There, on the video conference screen, were the faces of her past partner and the most knowledgeable NMC expert in the world. On the desk beside them was something that looked like a cross between a rat and a John Carpenter monster. Its tail was split at the end, and it's skin was pulled back away from its head and limbs, like it had grown out of it in a matter of minutes. However, the flesh at the end of its skin had scarred over, looking as if it was healing. The most noticeable thing that Aya could see was that it had remained whole and solid despite the massive gash running the length of it's body. If it wasn't sealed in a Plexiglas container with hazard signs on them, Aya would have screamed at them to run.

Once an NMC, or even the rarer AMC, was killed, it would begin to melt. Some took minutes to be reduced to a puddle of steaming cell goo. Without the network of mitochondria to maintain the heightened cellular processes and hold the modified cells together, the body would literally fall apart. Cause enough damage to the cells of the creature, through either physical damage to the creatures superstructure or compromising cell integrity, and bam, instant monster slime. But this rat was still whole. Meaning alive, in Aya's nigh on decade of professional experience.

'_Oh hell, this not a good thing, every time they change substantially, a new apocalypse is on the horizon.'_ Before her mind could convince her mouth to greet her friends despite the shocking beast in front of her, her friends decide to start the conversation.

"Agent Pierce was right, twenty eight minutes on the dot, isn't that right Dollis-san?"the esteemed professor quipped in a quick and hesitation free cadence, demonstrating a greatly improved grasp of the English language, even if his accent still remained.

"For the fifth time in as many hours, call me Daniel," shot back a visibly tired and still gruff cop, "and shouldn't you greet our long time out of contact friend before making tasteless jokes?"

"Ahh, my apologies" Maeda noted with a slight nod towards her position visible on the screen, "Hello Aya, it has been far too long. Now, do I, once more, have to explain the customs which dictate that as long as you are acting as the Chief of Police, I must show the respect that I would any other, regardless of our past association?"

"Ahem," Aya cleared her throat "mind explaining the impossible thing in the box instead of bickering amongst each other?"

"Sorry, its been a long half hour and the city only budgeted me for one teleconference"

Turning towards his friend, Maeda remarked "I still do not grasp the need for this meeting to occur in such a way, why could we not simply visit her and do this in person?"

"We can't transport a high level biohazard like that" Daniel muttered while thumbing in the box's direction "Without some form of media leak, making this waste of time and money the only answer."

"Why not use the Internet, it would be cheaper and more efficient?" the professor chimed in.

"You know I can't use computers, besides this is far more secure, no hackers or anyth..."

"Focus. Rat. Box. NOW." Aya snapped, a combination of adrenalin, exhaustion, nostalgia, and foreboding. '_I can't believe this, they have a potentially life threatening situation on their hands and they can't get down to business.'_

"Sorry"

"Gomen" at this point both the men in New York had cracked smiles; or at least a tired grin, as the case may be.

"...Why can't you just say sor..."

"FOCUS!" was the shout that accompanied the return of agent Pierce to the cramped office being used for the long distance meeting. Not wanting to interrupt her and risk a repeat of the last time he had gotten in the way of a mitochondria powered super being, he took a seat hastily, shrunk down to the smallest size he could manage, and waited to be called upon.

"Sorry, we thought this up and just wanted to try it and see if it worked, it has been a long half hour"

All happiness (or justified anger) immediately drained from the assembled party. "As you can see, Aya, this NMC has not degraded, far from it actually." At this point Maeda gestured to the creature in the container. "This NMC has not degraded in any way after its death, including any natural form of decomposition. This is due to the fact that the individual cells of its body have maintained a defense against predatory and parasitic activity by out side lifeforms, and seem to be sustaining themselves on inter cellular stores. These stores have yet to run out, and seem to be shared throughout the entirety of the body. We have observed viron particles and bacteria being drawn into the cells, but have not had the chance to determine what happened to them. All samples removed from the central body mass loss this defense and are quickly destroyed." pausing only to take a short breath, he continued "Furthermore, unlike the other mutants that we have been exposed to, this creature shows signs of natural cellular division acting to maintain the body shape. As you can see plainly here" pointing to the scar tissue "the creatures newly evolved body has begun to repair itself, unlike the creatures that you encountered both here and in the ark. The only conclusion that can be reasonably drawn from this is that its mutation was not detrimental to the gross cellular structure, going so far as to sustain it and, in fact, enhance it."

"So, let me get this straight," said Aya as she sifted through her translation of the miniature lecture given by her Japanese friend. "There is a new deviation in NMC evolution sitting on you desk."

"My unwanted and over priced desk, yes" grumbled Daniel.

"And in that container is a sample of still active Eve mutational cells."

"Yes" answered the professor after a sidelong glance at his compatriot who had a dawning look of horror on his face, as he slowly reached for his side arm.

"And you are just fine with this?"

"I have spent the last several days testing it and confirmed that it is non hazardous, in an immediate and violent cellular sense. It also shows no form of inter cellular communication between it's mitochondria, meaning it is unable to think of move on a macro system level. It is harmless."

"Good" Aya sighed, feeling as though the world made a little more sense now that her friends were not behaving openly suicidal. Daniel seemed to agreed, letting his hand drop away from his holster.

Daniel took this opportunity to cut into the conversation, still managing a half leer at the box all the while, "We have spent the last two and a half days trying to determine what this is and where it came from. At first, Maeda and the boys on the MMC thought it was a deviation of the ones we faced in the Eve case that either escaped the purge or were preserved by some chemical." At this his hand shot up to his forehead in show of strain, both mental and physical. "We were able to determine that it was fresh, having found traces of a rat poison only patented and approved in the last two years in the core of the bones." with a heavy sigh, the police Chief of Police for the greater New York city area fixed Aya in place with his stare even from the other side of the country. "It was freshly made."

'_Hell, looks like another road trip'_ was all that Aya Brea could think as the potential weight of the situation crashed over her like wave on the beach. _'please let this just be a one of a kind mutation and not some form of ….' _The next thing out of Maeda's mouth completely derailed any of her thoughts and set her hair on end.

"And to correct a brief misstatement on your part, Aya, the mitochondria are not of the original Eve I, Eve II, or even Eve III mutational strain. They are much more similar to a sample of yours"

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Please review, I need feedback to improve my writing skills and keep my interest

PS: flamers will be turned into slime and used to take over the world. Only the constructive critics will be spared.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey, sorry this took so long, the real world was very insistent on devouring my time, but fear not, I have found some to write at long last.

Disclaimer: I own no characters involved in Parasite Eve, Parasite Eve 2, or the novel upon which they are based, but I do own like, three copies of the game, so that should count for something, right?

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Chapter 3:

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There was one thing, one tactic, one insidious stratagem that could over power the determination of Aya Brea on a regular basis. Yes, this one thing is so feared that it has been given a name. It was the notorious and deadly skill know only as... the puppy dog eyes. True, the occasional witty debate with Kyle would result in a change of plan, or the chaotic antics of a certain co-worker would trick her into saying something she would later regret. However, these were rare turns of fate, and becoming rarer with each passing week. This was not the case with a child doggedly pursueing something that they wanted. With but a tear, a quivering lip, and a downtrodden stare, the superhuman will of Aya Brea collapsed.

There were few people in Brea's life that would dare to even try that look when in an argument, debate, discussion, or shouting match with her. And only one of them was in the room with her at the moment, staring her down from the opposite side of the kitchen table.

"But why can't I come with you?" was the plaintiff statement that accompanied the use a highly enhanced and weaponized PDE in this particular case. However, in truly dire situations, even the cornered rat can surprise the cat, and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

"Because Eve, this is not a vacation, this is a serious matter, that could even escalate to a life-or-death situation." At the flash of inspiration in the teen's eye, Aya quickly added "And no, I will not tell you what is going on there or why I have to go. You seeing the ticket 'just laying on the counter' could be considered spying on an FBI investigation". _Ok_, Aya thought, _a bit overboard, but it might keep her away. She is a clone of the second Eve, if there is some creature out there like me, it would rip her to pieces_. And suddenly, a worse thought entered her mind. _If she were to reawaken..._

In the time Aya had been thinking of apocalypse-like, life-destroying scenarios, Eve had changed tactics. Now instead of using the puppy dog eyes, which was her ace in the hole, she had switched to the ever necessary, but slower acting backup plan.

Guilt.

"OK, go have your fun in New York, the largest, most amazing city on the East coast without ME!" After shouting the last remark, Eve began slowly walking around the kitchen table, heading toward the door to her room. "I can just stay here, completely alone, without any way to protect myself from crazy scientists that want to dissect a clone!" having reached the exit to the kitchen by the time she shouted clone, Eve had her hand on the door to her room as she started her next verbal assualt. "Or mabye a rogue genetisist will try to unlock the secret of suppressing mitochodrial mutation by breaking in and stealing some DNA samples, Again!" Spinning on her heal and talking into the door in a heart wrenching monotone, Eve said "Have fun, and make sure to bring me a souvenir for my casket." And, finally, to complete the act, a quick and over embellished slam of the door punctuated her exit from the conversation.

And so the count down began

10...

Aya was disappointed in Eve, even if she didn't behave like it some times, the girl was not so easy to shake.

9...

Besides, there was no way that someone would make an attempt on Eve. The UN had a resolution banning any non-consenting medical or scientific procedures from being performed on any mitochondrial beings with self awareness and language skills. They even promised military intervention on both of their behalves...

8...

_Ok,_ Aya thought as she analyzed the protective measure the UN had taken. The clunky emergency satellite phone on the counter was very wimpy looking, unless you wanted it as a bludgeon. _ first tidbits of doubt showing themselves._

7...

there was only one attempt on Eve, and that was years ago. The madmen who tried were in jail serving five year sentences in Australia

6...

_Wait, does the UN release people early for good behavior?_

5...

_ And Kyle would be out of town for at least three more days... Shit._

4...

_But New York is more dangerous, mad scientists will only hurt her, the Big Apple might make her less than human. And make me do something I won't be able to live down..._

3...

(count down aborted. Launch averted.)

"Sorry Eve, its not going to work this time!" Aya shouted as she finished packing. "I'm leaving in a few minutes and there is money on the table and the spare credit card in the bill folder if that doesn't last you, just call me before you use it, OK?" A sudden thought occurred to Aya that may just buy here the goodwill to escape an angry glare-off after this was over. "Treat yourself to some of that Thai tofu stuff while I'm gone... and take the emergency phone with you. For protection." _I raise and call._

"Damn" Eve whispered under her breath, _I thought I had her there for a minute. But, as losses go, however, this is a pretty good one so far... _Hoping that her plan might still work, with a little more finesse, the teen started her stereo up and put her most depressing Alanis Morissette CD in. The minutes passed, and eventually the front door opened and closed. "Damn it!"

After about two minutes, Eve came out to see what she had to work with as far as cash was concerned. _Three fifties... _and less than a heartbeat later, the light bulb went off. _With my mattress hoard, that makes $436 on hand._ A smirk threatened to overtake her entire face as she pulled out a phone book.

"Lets see if there are any more flights to New York this evening..."

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As Aya boarded the 747 bound for New York through Washington, she could only wounder how this whole situation would play out. The last time she had been in the Big Apple, she had been wading though the sewers less than a week after the formation of mist, hunting down a pack of mutant sewer rats that had eaten some of the ultimate lifeforms remain. Rats with fire power were bad enough, but hovering rats with laser breath were the worst thing she had ever faced... in a sewer...in New York.

_The fact that I needed that many qualifiers to make that thought true only prove how weird my life is. _Aya lamented as she squeezed into her seat between some overweight businessman and a sickly looking old man.

And to top it off, the gun she had been modifying and upgrading with every piece of scrap she found had died a beam related death in the mouth of the last damn rat in the pack. Just like that, the gun that had saved her life so many time, the gun that had slain giant invertebrates and returned dinosaurs to extinction, had been reduce to a smoking heap of metal. She still missed that gun in her weaker moments. _I even had my name engraved in it for crying out loud!_

This was all not intended to belittle her current armament, the assault rifle Pierce was getting permits to move out of California was a good gun, it too had saved her life countless times before, during, and after the ARK, but it was just not the same thing. Any M-16 with a bayonet and grenade attachment, sighted to 500 yards and reinforced with carbon steel frame was just as good as it.

It wasn't unique, like her old shotgun was.

She had spent nearly three months trying to figure out how some of the upgrades on that thing worked, and she still didn't know. Probably something highly illegal filched from the evidence locker by an over devoted gun tech.

As the plane rolled into the cue for takeoff, Aya could only hope that she wouldn't need to miss her guns in the next few days.

* * *

Dr. Maeda let out a deep breath as he slumped into the break room's cleanest looking recliner at the station. After a day of making report after report to every politician and authority within the city and without, including his old friend the Anti-Eve herself, he needed to rest. Not that rest would come easy to him, as the threat facing the city was far worse than anyone aside from him and possibly Aya could guess.

He could only reflect on the look in Aya's eyes after she heard the news about the creature they had discovered.

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(flashback)

_ It took Aya nearly a minute to stop staring at Maeda's mouth, expecting some form of tell, a smirk or twitch, to let her know it was a joke, that they had planned this in advance, SOMETHING other than it being the truth. The tell never came._

_ After Aya had gotten over her shock, Maeda continued "While the external mutations fall in line with what we have seen produced in the second Eve, the internal cellular activities are similar to your own, making this shape possibly similar to the Liberation form you assumed during your battle with Eve II." pausing to adjust his glasses, Maeda seemed almost reluctant to continue his explanation. "I this is the case, it is possible that any other creature affected by the mutation could remain outwardly normal until provoked. If this is the case, then we will need to develop a way to detect them in their unchanged state."_

_ "And that is the least of our worries," the still chief of police broke in, drawing the focus to himself as he stepped towards the camera, and slightly away from the beast-in-a-box on his desk. "this creature did change." he continued, "Meaning that something threatened it, killed it, and left its remains undisturbed. From this we can conclude that what ever it was was able to single out the little monster, overpower the rat-thing in close combat, and did not feed from it afterward." Letting his breath out in a slow sigh, Daniel locked eyes with Aya, conveying all the seriousness of the situation he could. "these facts taken together all point towards an intelligent predator of some kind, killing for reasons other than food. You were a cop long enough to know what this might mean._

_Aya's voice was little more than a whisper as she put the pieces together "It might be human..."_

* * *

(end flashback)

Another human, turned into a monster, something both Aya and Maeda had seen far too many times before. The meeting had ended relatively soon after that, the agents of MIST wanting to move out immediately. It was actually Daniel that had recommended traveling in two groups, Aya leading the charge in case of an escalation in MC activity and Pierce heading up the rear while carting around the heavy artillery.

Even with this countries obsession with guns, it still amazed the Maeda how hard transporting legal arms across state lines could be. After all, couldn't they just jump on a military plane or something?

* * *

At the very moment that thought crossed Maeda's mind, on the other side of the country, Pierce sneezed, scattering the weapons and ordinances transfer forms he was filling out across the office. A few even fell into the automated shredder.

"Damn it, not again!"

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Reviews requested, and criticism for the delay is expected, peace all.


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